Dr. George Thompson
Dr. Thompson ("Doc Rhino") is the President and Founder of the Verbal Judo Institute. Over the last 26 years, he has personally trained more than 700,000 individuals in Tactical Communications -- a program he developed in 1983 for defusing conflict and redirecting behavior with words.
Verbal Judo was originally developed for police, corrections, and security professionals and is now a required course in numerous states. More recently it has been tailored for other organizations (e.g., mental health, the gaming industry, hospitals, businesses, schools) and for use by civilians to protect themselves from verbal assault and physical violence.
Doc has a B.A. from Colgate University (1963), a Masters and Doctorate in English from the University of Connecticut (1972), and has completed post-doctoral work at Princeton University in Rhetoric & Persuasion (1979). He has written and published four books on Tactical Communictions.
Widely published in magazines and periodicals, his training has been highlighted in such national media outlets as NBC, ABC, & CBS News, CNN, 48 Hours, Inside Edition, LETN, In the Line of Duty, and Fox news, as well as in the LA Times, NY Post, Sacramento Bee, and other publications.
Doc's Verbal Judo Institute offers it's training via live events, digital media, and free online newsletters.
Honors and Awards:
Voted Outstanding Educator of America, 1975
Guest Instructor on the Law Enforcement Training Network
Columnist for Police One and Corrections One
Contributing Expert to the Better Kids Institute
Black Belts in Judo and Tae Kwon Do
Publications:
- Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion
- Verbal Judo: Redirecting Behavior With Words
- Verbal Judo: Words As A Force Option
- The Verbal Judo Way Of Leadership
- Hammett's Moral Vision
